Reviews tagging 'Cultural appropriation'

Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

3 reviews

gabriella_'s review

dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book has almost everything. Structures of oppression, intergenerational trauma, grief, romance, war, friendship conflicts, learned bigotry & privilege, and governmental conspiracy. It scratches any itch you have from Harry Potter, Maximum Ride, and The Hunger Games all rolled into one. Shit, it even satisfies the Warriors cat series fans too. It does all this will surpassing all of these series. Wish I had this when I was a younger, more voracious reader.

Tracy Deonn one-ups herself in this sequel book. This book further expands on characterizing her central cast while also giving other (more background) characters a chance in the limelight. She developed a core ensemble cast that feels compelling and stand-alone. This book made me cry, especially when

Bree talks with her mother

- Bloodmarked is raw and real. Bree is one of my favorite series protagonists I’ve ever read. She feels so real. I love reading about a protagonist who is strong, really strong, and in more than just a physical (or even girlboss) way. She has grit and emotional stamina and she’s navigating through systems rigged against her. 

More random things I love about this book that didn’t seem to have a place for me to write them in this review: 

• The rest of the cast - especially Selwyn - tugs at my heartstrings. 
• Tracy Deonn’s dream sequences are an amazing exploration of themes that are relevant later in the book and offer a refreshing way to engage with old magic.
• The descriptive settings!! 
• The use of LANGUAGE. Ugh. CARIAD!
• The men in this book have a “written by a woman” charm. Well, the men that matter do, at least.

I love the way this author lays the groundwork for future plot twists - she has a gift for finding a way to keep the reader on their toes without insulting their intelligence AND while still making the twists believable. Some you can see coming - but that’s a credit to her foreshadowing. 

I just want to keep gushing about this book because honestly it left me soooo hungry for the next book in this series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Gore, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Slavery, Blood, Body horror, Death, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Grief, Physical abuse, Stalking, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Child death, Classism, Cultural appropriation, and Torture

siennabea's review

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really like this book. It had the same amazing writing style as the last one (Legendborn). The only thing I really would say, is I would have loved to see more of the other characters, as I really did like the friendships and realationships they all have.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent and Death

Minor: Cultural appropriation and Bullying

lectricefeministe's review

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Dementia, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, War, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Blood, Car accident, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Medical content, Abandonment, Body horror, Child death, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Violence, Colonisation, Death, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Religious bigotry